Deleted Scenes
by Dizzy-Dreamer
Summary: The evolution of Kelly & Payson's friendship. Missing scenes from 'Lose Control'. K for a couple of mildly naughty words.
1. can i get that in writing?

These chapters are 'deleted scenes' from a previous submission 'Lose Control'. These can be read as standalone pieces, but might make more sense in context if you read Lose Control first!

This chapter appears between chapters four and five of Lose Control.

* * *

"Payson," Kelly hissed, grabbing her teammate's arm and leading her to a quiet corner of the gym. Podium training at the Olympic Trials was in full swing and by the end of the week, the team to represent the United States at the Olympics would have been finalised and announced in front of the entire nation. Everyone was on edge. Payson scowled as she followed Kelly, reluctantly, to a quiet corner of the empty arena.

"Look, Payson, something's going on with you, I don't know what—and frankly, I wish I didn't care, it's none of my business—but I do. You need to get your head in the game," Kelly began. Payson's frown deepened. She had acted on autopilot since Sasha had left four weeks prior, speaking, sleeping and eating just enough to get by, but her gymnastics hadn't suffered—if anything, Sasha's abandonment had driven her to perform better than ever. She had never been as physically strong and able, and over the next few days, the selection committee was about to see that.

"I know I've been awful to you since you beat me at Junior Nationals when we were twelve," Kelly continued. Payson nodded in agreement. "And you know it's no secret that my mom is a raging psychotic bitch," Payson nodded again. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

Payson raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I know it's not an excuse. I'm trying here, okay?" Kelly pleaded. She blinked hard; Payson could see she was at war with herself as she chose her words carefully. "I just—I've never had friends, or a real team before—whenever I saw you at meets or practices with the other Rock girls, I just—God, Payson, I so badly wanted in on that. My mom would have _killed_ me if I did anything other than psych you guys out, Christ, I mean, she practically beat me if I got anything less than gold…"

Payson opened her mouth to speak but Kelly held up a hand to stop her.

"And I know it's not an excuse, okay, I have raging bitch-genes from my mother and I'm sorry. I hate myself for being like this, but I just—I've never told anyone this before, but you inspire me, Payson. You're my biggest inspiration. You've always been there to push me harder, to be better, and you were always there to remind me why I compete, even if you didn't know it. I don't want to go to London without you, Payson, and I don't want to see whatever is in your head consume you and break you down."

Payson's frown softened. Kelly's eyes were deep and pleading, almost glassy, and Payson knew that whatever animosity she had once held for her rival had to be pushed aside if they wanted to share a podium in London. In another life, she could have been friends with Kelly Parker—instead, they had shared a bitter rivalry for six years.

"I don't expect us to have slumber parties and paint each other's nails or anything, but can we—do you think—maybe we could start again?"

Payson thought for a moment. Kelly had become something of an ally since the World championships and the public fall-out with her mother, but starting afresh meant something completely different. They could be friends—hell, they could be anything they wanted to be, together—between the two of them, they could decimate the rest of the gymnastics world on the most public stage of all in London. That thought had been her only motivation for the last ten weeks. It barely took a moment for Payson to make up her mind.

"Okay," she nodded. A pretty smile bloomed on Kelly's face, so natural and spontaneous it made Payson smile too. She realised she had never seen a true smile from Kelly, and from the way her face ached already, she realised she hadn't smiled for a long time, either. She held out a hand and Kelly shook it firmly.

They returned, side by side, to the rest of the group in the middle of the gym.

"Hey, KP," Payson said. Her eyes twinkled with the vaguest hint of what Kelly had taken to calling 'the old Payson'. "Can I get all that in writing?"


	2. gold after gold after gold

This chapter appears between chapters five and six - or, more accurately, during the very beginning of chapter six of Lose Control.

* * *

Kelly and Payson headed for the showers, silently grabbing two side-by-side cubicles in the far corner of the changing room. Each girl clutched their toiletries in one hand and a towel in the other—Payson carried hers in an open plastic basket, Kelly's were in a showerproof bag.

The sound of the arena echoed in Payson's ears until she switched on the water. Suddenly, all she could hear was the heavy jet of just-south-of-scalding water crashing around her ears and onto the tight muscles in her shoulders.

She heard some quiet rustling, then—

"Crap, I forgot my shampoo. Payson, can I borrow yours?"

Wordlessly, Payson squirted a dollop of the white gel into her palm before pushing onto her toes and reaching up to hold the bottle over the top of the cubicle wall. Kelly took it, squirted some into her own palm and passed it back.

"Coconut and lychee—oh my God, PK, this smells _delicious_ ," Kelly exclaimed. "Thanks, by the way."

They lapsed into silence again, the room filled with the pounding of hot water, the vague crackle of lathering soap and a heavy blanket of emotional exhaustion.

If the Olympic Games was a mountain, the team final had been the climb. Between the qualifying rounds and the final, the team had fractured and all but fallen apart, managing to hold themselves together just long enough to put forward twelve high scores and beat their nearest competitors by a full four and a half points. It wasn't a pretty memory, but that gold medal podium – the first – was the top of the mountain. The rest of the competition went without a hitch; gold after gold after gold piled into Payson's suitcase. The gold medal was the dream, the pinnacle, the first and last thought of every day. She had held the gold medals in her hands—what now?

 _This is it,_ Payson told herself. _It's all over now. Fourteen years boiled down to six gold medals and—what? He didn't even see it. He left and he didn't come back for you._

After a little while, the other girls arrived in small groups and the comfortable quiet was broken. Kelly and Payson turned off their showers almost simultaneously, wrapped themselves in towels and exited the shower cubicles for the changing ones, emerging moments later, fully dressed.

Kelly took in Payson's appearance—her blue jeans and bright turquoise t-shirt weren't overly special and it wasn't anything Kelly hadn't seen before, but without the competition make up, Kelly thought the dark circles beneath Payson's eyes were probably visible from the moon. She sucked in a quiet breath. Payson pulled a hooded sweatshirt over her head and Kelly immediately recognised it from her own wardrobe—white with a turquoise design on the front. She smoothed out her cranberry sweater and gathered all her belongings, pushing them into her gym bag. Payson organised her bag neatly, pulling the zip closed without a struggle. Kelly fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hey, KP," Payson spoke up after a moment. Kelly looked up, surprised—despite their recent truce and quietly blossoming friendship, Payson had barely spoken to her—or to anyone—for weeks, and she certainly hadn't spoken unprompted.

"You were awesome this week. I'm so proud to be your teammate."

"Couldn't have done it without you, PK," Kelly insisted with a small smile. "Besides, how many gold medals did you win? You did pretty well yourself."

Payson smiled a small, tired smile.

"I think I'm gonna go back to the apartment," Payson said almost apologetically. Kelly nodded. "I don't really feel much like partying."

Kelly knew Payson would probably crawl straight into bed, although she doubted her roommate would sleep—she'd been kept awake most nights with the sound of her roommate tossing and turning, holding back quiet sobs and counting sheep, pigs and whatever other farm animals she could think of to try and catch a few hours' sleep. In fact, if Kelly knew her friend at all, she'd put money on the village's training gym being Payson's destination.

"I gotta go do something—I'll be back in a while, okay? I have my cell phone," Kelly answered. She rested a hand on Payson's arm for just a minute, a quiet symbol of strength; _I'm here if you need anything_. Payson nodded before following Kelly out of the arena's back door and walking in the opposite direction. The Olympics were over and the rest of her life just beginning—she should be celebrating, but as she swapped her jeans for running shorts and hopped onto the treadmill in the gym, all she could do was cry.


End file.
